A network is a group of two or more network devices linked by wired or wireless connections. A network device is an electronic system, e.g., a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile or laptop computer, a cellular or mobile telephone, etc., that is accessible by or over a network.
A network management application (NMA) is a computer program used to manage network devices. The NMA can run as a stand-alone application either on a server, i.e., a network device that provides data to another network device, or on a client, i.e., a network device that receives data from a server. In some instances, many thousands of clients request data from the same server.
As part of the network management process, a computer program known as an agent gathers data regarding the operating status of a network device. The data includes information regarding specific components of the network device, for example, that a port (i.e., an interface on an electronic device used to connect another device to the electronic device) is defective. The agent transmits the operating status data to a database, where the data is stored until retrieved by an NMA.
A person can access a client and view an image, and any corresponding textual information, conveying the operating status of a network device. When accessed for this purpose, the client requests an image of the network device from the server running the network's NMA. Typically, the NMA is written to include instructions for generating images of various network devices and their components and any corresponding textual information. For example, the instructions include data regarding the shapes and locations of the network device's ports. Consequently, when a network device running an NMA receives the request for the image conveying the operating status of a particular network device, the NMA retrieves the network device's operating status data from a database and generates the image and any corresponding textual information. The network device running the NMA displays the image on a flat-panel display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT).
When an NMA is written to include instructions for generating images of network devices, the NMA cannot generate an image of a particular network device or any corresponding textual information unless the NMA includes instructions for generating images of that network device and its components and any corresponding textual information. When one or more new devices added to a network are developed after the release of the NMA running on the network's server, the NMA will not contain instructions for generating an image of any newly developed network devices or any corresponding textual information.
In order for the NMA to generate images (and any corresponding textual information) of network devices developed after the release of the NMA, the NMA is rewritten to include instructions for generating such images and textual information. Subsequently, a revised version of the NMA is released. The NMA is rewritten on multiple occasions when network devices are developed periodically over time after various releases of the NMA. Rewriting an NMA so that it can generate images (and any corresponding textual information) of newly developed network devices consumes a great deal of time and resources. In addition, if a defect is identified in the NMA after its release, significant code changes are required in order to correct the defect.